Scotch & Scones

(Re)Visiting Friends

I’ve been told time and again that everyone’s palate is different, that what you taste won’t necessarily be what I taste. I’ve also been told that what I taste can be different from one time to another, and I’ve found that to be true as well. And I’ve found that I’m better able to describe what I’m tasting (or at least come up with more of a variety of adjectives) than I did when I first started tasting whisky and writing up my notes a year ago.

This observation came to mind when I went to last week’s Whisky Wednesday at Gordons DTX for Kavalan and Nikka and found that I had previously tasted most of the lineup. Rather than just kick back and enjoy the expressions, I thought it might be fun to do another set of tasting notes and compare them to what I had written before (no rest for the weary!). I had written about Kavalan in Hurry Up and Wait from last March, and Nikka more recently in Across the (other) pond from last December. Sure, there were some similarities, but there were enough differences to be interesting. The most striking example was between the Kavalan tasting notes from then and now…when I first tasted it back in February of last year, I had just started to take tasting seriously and my notes then reflect the newness of it all (just as the blog had been a baby at that point, so was my palate). My descriptors were shorter, more pointed, and less varied. Having tasted the Nikka much more recently, the differences between the notes were more style than substance…noticing different elements rather than not having the vocabulary. I also think that the setting of the tasting effected my notes…Whisky Wednesdays are also about being social, so seeing friends and meeting new people are a large part of why I go each week. I get distracted as I socialize, and while I try to concentrate on what I’m experiencing with each dram, I don’t want to be rude. It’s a fine (and fun) balance.

So without further ado (yes, you do have a lot of ado here!), let’s get to the tasting…my notes from the previous tastings are in italics.

Finish: some ashy flavor at the end, fades to mint (the evergreen notes fade slowly)

Comments: more of a toasted grain character (a more intense version of the Pure Malt, good layered complexity)

The various shades of Kavalan

Being able to tease out aroma and flavor descriptors is an ability I envy and am striving to develop. It’s nice to see how far I’ve come, and it’s curious to see how trying something more than once can produce different impressions. But just as important is accepting that none of those impressions are wrong, and that those differences in time and ability make the sip more interesting, more surprising. Let’s drink to that!